Flare Disposal

Fishtales

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Looking for ideas.
I keep the most recent set of out dated flares as a backup and have a set that is within expiration as the primary.
Fire dept don’t take anymore? Do I soak in water and trash? Do I light off and shoot the bullet ones off at the beach? Other ideas?
 
Looking for ideas.
I keep the most recent set of out dated flares as a backup and have a set that is within expiration as the primary.
Fire dept don’t take anymore? Do I soak in water and trash? Do I light off and shoot the bullet ones off at the beach? Other ideas?
Throw a couple hand held ones in the truck or trailer box. People put them up cheap on CL sometimes, I don’t know why
 

At this time, boaters should take the the following steps to look for a Flare Disposal Program in your local area.

  1. Contact the household hazardous waste management facility in your area and ask if they accept flares for disposal. This may be a landfill or a transfer station.
  2. If that doesn't work, contact the local fire department and ask if they accept flares for disposal.
  3. If that doesn't work, contact the state boating law agency and ask them for recommendations for flare disposal in your state.
 
Did you know that if you fire a flare (gun) at the water, it will skip across the water and eventually stop and spin there like atop? :)

Old handheld flares are a good teaching opportunity in the back yard. Show other family members the do's and don't's of how to light/hold a flare. Let them each do it. It's good to learn in a controlled environment before having to do it for real and then holding it wrong and having hot slag burn their hand... which will cause them to drop the flare... likely back into the boat... possibly catching your boat on fire... requiring you to light ANOTHER flare... which you don't have... because the extra flares are in the, now burning, boat and you are in the water... ;)

Handheld flares will NOT go out simply by dunking them in water! Even stuffing them into the sand, under water, will not immediately work!
 
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I like the training idea. Good for flares. Not sure what to do with the shit gun shell signal flares or smoke ones.
 
Did you know that if you fire a flare (gun) at the water, it will skip across the water and eventually stop and spin there like atop? :)

Old handheld flares are a good teaching opportunity in the back yard. Show other family members the do's and don't's of how to light/hold a flare. Let them each do it. It's good to learn in a controlled environment before having to do it for real and then holding it wrong and having hot slag burn their hand... which will cause them to drop the flare... likely back into the boat... possibly catching your boat on fire... requiring you to light ANOTHER flare... which you don't have... because the extra flares are in the, now burning, boat and you are in the water... ;)

Handheld flares will NOT go out simply by dunking them in water! Even stuffing them into the sand, under water, will not immediately work!
Learned that last part as a kid when we would find half used flares in the road that the police would use to control an accident scene. We'd take them home to "play" with.
 
I had decades of expired commercial flares from my dad's rig. I used the last bit on Halloween....had some of the day time smoke left...the kids loved it. I think the oldest stuff was '84.
 
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